Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to providing information related to a communication session and more particularly to using a presence-based network for providing caller identification information.
Today there are proprietary and standard based ways to expose caller identification information to a phone, either a hard phone or a soft phone. These systems and methods involve signaling or messaging information, i.e., the caller identification information is passed as part of the signaling in the from an address in Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) header or derivable from it or in a separate message. Legacy system such as various Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN), Internet, or PBXes have many proprietary or standard based variations to provide caller identification information.
However, none of these approaches allow many standard clients to be able to display the caller identification information throughout a call and possibly notify in any desirable way at the onset. For example, many Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and other clients not specifically adapted to work with a particular network, PBX or other equipment cannot handle provided caller identification information. Existing methods and systems also do not allow other clients or authorized principals, i.e., other than the recipient of the call, to receive the caller identification details and do not model handset or device availability e.g., on hook and/or off hook. Furthermore, these methods and systems do not provide a stateful/persistent model of the communication state of a terminal or a principal and do not similarly or symmetrically handle outbound calls as well as inbound calls. Hence, there is a need for improved methods and systems for providing information related to a communication such as caller identification information.